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Basketball is a favorite pastime of kids and adults alike. American kids grow up with dreams of earning scholarships and reaching fame in the college league.

Basketball owes its origin to Dr. James Naismith, who invented the sport in 1892. Before long, the popularity of the game caught on and it was being played in American colleges. The first official game involving a college team was played between Geneva College and the New Brighton YMCA in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania on April 8, 1893. On February 9, 1895, the first intercollegiate game was played between the Minnesota State School of Agriculture and Hamline College. Minnesota won that game, 9 to 3.

The introduction of the five-player format was the next major college basketball milestone. This happened during an intercollegiate game in Iowa City on January 18, 1896. By the early 1900s, the basketball was being played in ninety colleges, mostly in the East and Midwest. This number continued to swell, and by 1914 as many as 360 colleges were playing college basketball.

In 1915, the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States, the NCAA and the YMCA banded together to streamline the game. A committee was organized to frame rules and during this time, a number of regional conferences were formed.

The first NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship tournament was organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and held in Evanston in 1939. A crowd of 5,500 cheering basketball fans watched the University of Oregon with the game. After this, the NCAA took over the national basketball championship tournament, and another college basketball milestone was realized.

In 1940, college basketball made it to the small screen. The first televised college game was played between Pittsburgh and Fordham at Madison Square Garden. This was the beginning of a national obsession with basketball and since then, the game has drawn huge crowds. The most-watched event in the United States is March Madness, when nearly 350 American colleges come together to compete for the NCAA basketball crown.

The NCAA tournament had relatively humble beginnings, with just eight teams competing against each other representing each of the eight NCAA districts. In 1951 the number of teams doubled to sixteen. In this format, ten conference champions qualified automatically, while the remaining six teams were chosen on the basis of their performance. In 1954, the number of teams went up to 24, and a 32-team bracket was adopted in 1975. Further increases saw the number of teams jump to 48 in 1980, and to 64 in 1985.

Over the years, college basketball has gone through remarkable changes. Many players have showcased their talents on campus courts and risen to become basketball superstars, and most NBA stars trace their origins to college basketball.

More than 120 years after it was first invented, the game of basketball is more popular than ever. Who knows what college basketball milestones lay ahead?

Daniel Thomas contributes to several online magazines, such as http://bivec.com and http://kesaw.com.

Drive for show, putt for dough. Relax the nerves, trust your line. Eyes over the ball, smooth take away. Accelerate through the ball, and...

Klinka tinka tinka -- yes! The sweet sound of a birdie putt, or even a 6-footer for par, dropping into the cup. It's a great feeling, especially if you just finished the 18th for a personal best round. Or if you just won 5 skins to make your buddies shell out some serious coin. A hot day with the putter can make you feel like a million bucks. Actually, in the case of a PGA tour pro, it can earn you a million bucks.

Too bad that for the average golfer those days seem to come so infrequently. The average Joe uses up anywhere between 32 and 40 putts per round, while the best pros average around 30. Tour pros make just under 90% of their putts from 4-5 feet, while average guys make around 50%. That's a lot of shots to give up! Think about this: if you are a thirteen handicapper, your average score is around 85, and you average 36 putts per round, then 42% of your shots are putts! And what do you spend most of your time doing at the range? If youre like most guys (and gals) then you spend most of your time beating balls with your driver or mid-irons. Yet, according to the numbers you should be spending almost half of your time on the putting green.

So how can busy people with little time for golf practice still improve their putting game without doubling practice time or drastically reducing the amount of time spent practicing their full shots? Golf training aids are the answer. Many training aids exist that can quickly improve your putting stroke and green reading without spending hours on the putting green. Just 10 to 15 minutes per practice session is required for most golfers to drop strokes quickly. Here are some tips for finding right training aids or a combination of training aids to maximize your results:

1. Look for training aids that allow you to easily see the following things: square clubface, shoulder alignment, eye placement (over the ball), foot alignment, and stroke path. Some devices use mirrors, some use low-power lasers. Most training aids have physical barriers that keep the putter on the right path during the stroke.

2. For eye alignment you can always do this: line up the putt and address the ball as if you were going to hit the putt. Then take a ball from your pocket, put it between your eyes, and allow it to drop straight down. Wherever the ball lands is where your eyes are lined up. They should be directly over the target ball.

3. Whatever device(s) you choose, make sure that they are not too large and/or awkward. My experience is that you don't use the device unless it is convenient.

4. Follow through is also important, so make sure that the training aid gives you feedback for the whole stroke. You need to see that your stroke path is straight and putter face releases properly after contact, otherwise you will have consistency problems.

5. Use the golf training aid consistently, every time you practice. You need to groove the stroke and you can't do that unless you keep at it. Also, if possible, use the device at home or at the office when you have a spare minute. This extra practice time really helps.

I wish you good luck and a hot blade!

Mike Gelhaus, once racquetball professional and published author for Racquetball Magazine, has turned his attention back to the game of Golf. With the use of golf training aids, he achieved a handicap of 3 only weeks before back surgery. Check out his site at http://the-best-golf-training-aids.com.